Jeremiah 29:1-6

1 And these be the words of the book, which Jeremy, the prophet, sent from Jerusalem to the residues of [the] elder men of [the] passing over (And these be the words of the letter, which the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem, to the remaining elders among those carried away captive), and to the priests, and to the prophets, and to all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had led over from Jerusalem into Babylon,

2 after that Jeconiah, the king, went out, and the lady, and the honest servants and chaste, and the princes of Judah went out of Jerusalem, and a subtle craftsman, and a goldsmith of Jerusalem, (after that King Jeconiah, and the queen mother, and the honest and chaste servants, or the eunuchs, and the princes, or the leaders, of Judah and of Jerusalem, and the craftsmen, and the goldsmiths, had left Jerusalem,)

3 in the hand of Elasah, (the) son of Shaphan, and of Gemariah, the son of Hilkiah, which Zedekiah, king of Judah, sent to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, into Babylon. And Jeremy said, (by the hand of Elasah, the son of Shaphan, and of Gemariah, the son of Hilkiah, whom Zedekiah, the king of Judah, sent to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, in Babylon. And Jeremiah said,)

4 The Lord of hosts, God of Israel, saith these things to all the passing over, which I translated from Jerusalem into Babylon, (The Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, saith these things to all those, whom I carried away captive from Jerusalem to Babylon,)

5 Build ye houses, and inhabit (them), and plant ye orchards, and eat ye [the] fruit of them;

6 take ye wives, and engender ye sons and daughters, and give ye wives to your sons, and give ye your daughters to husbands, and bear they sons and daughters; and be ye multiplied there, and do not ye be few in number.

Jeremiah 29:1-6 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 29

Thus chapter contains a letter of Jeremiah to the captives in Babylon; and gives an account of another sent from thence by Shemaiah to the people at Jerusalem; and is closed with threatening him with punishment for so doing. Jeremiah's letter concerns both the captives at Babylon, and the people left at Jerusalem, The persons to whom and by whom it was sent, and the time of writing and sending it, are mentioned in Jer 29:1-3; and though the prophet was the amanuensis, God was the author of it, as well as of their captivity, Jer 29:4; the contents of, it, respecting the captives, are advices to them to provide for their comfortable settlement in Babylon, and not think of returning quickly, by building houses, planting gardens, marrying, and giving in marriage, Jer 29:5,6; and to seek and pray for the prosperity of the place where they were; in which their own was concerned, Jer 29:7; to give no heed to their false prophets and diviners, Jer 29:8,9; and to expect a return to Jerusalem at the end of seventy years; which they might be assured of, since God had resolved upon it in his own mind, Jer 29:10,11; and especially if they called upon him, prayed to him, and sought him heartily, Jer 29:12-14; the other part of the letter respects the Jews in Jerusalem; concerning whom the captives are directed to observe, that both the king and people should suffer much by sword, famine, pestilence, and captivity, with the reason of it, Jer 29:15-19; particularly it is foretold, that Ahab and Zedekiah, two lying prophets, should be made an example of vengeance; and a proverbial curse should be taken of them, because of their villany, lewdness, and lies, Jer 29:20-23; next follows some account of Shemaiah's letter from Babylon, to the people and priests at Jerusalem, stirring them up against Jeremiah the prophet; which came to be known, by the priests reading it to him, Jer 29:24-29; upon which Shemaiah is threatened with punishment, and his seed after him, Jer 29:30-32.